HEAD of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon said that Broadcast legislation will be tabled in the National Assembly on Thursday, almost a year after President Bharrat Jagdeo made a commitment that both this legislation and the Freedom of Information legislation would be passed in this session.
Speaking at his weekly post-Cabinet press briefing held at the Office of the President yesterday, the HPS said that this legislation will be bundled with two others identified as priority: Wildlife legislation and Traffic Amendment legislation.
“Cabinet continued its examination of the implementation of the 2006 – 2011 parliamentary programme and its examination focused on the remaining legislative programmes in the 9th Parliament. Cabinet reaffirmed its earlier decisions on tabling of the following that have been identified as priority legislation: Broadcast legislation, Wildlife legislation and Traffic legislation,” he said.
He said that the Traffic Amendment legislation will allow for the creation of traffic wardens. “Cabinet noted the planned sitting of the National Assembly on Thursday, at which time the tabling of Broadcast legislation is planned,” he said.
“Cabinet was also advised about the progress in the proceedings of the Special Select Committee under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister that was examining the Access to Information Bill,” he told reporters.
The Broadcast legislation and its cousin, the Access to Information legislation are both points of contention between Government and Opposition.
President Jagdeo and then Leader of the Opposition Desmond Hoyte reached an agreement that there will be such Broadcast legislation and that, in the absence of it, a body termed the Advisory Committee on Broadcasting (ACB) will manage the airwaves.
The Broadcast Legislation is expected to bring into existence the Broadcast Authority, which is meant to replace the ACB and be the legal and regulatory authority for the management and monitoring of all broadcast on the spectrum.
Complaints that Government has too much influence on the ACB and that television stations viewed as Opposition-friendly can be unfairly sanctioned have fueled Opposition calls for the Broadcast authority to be established, under the rubric of the Broadcast legislation.
The ACB is restricted in its powers of sanction since it can only make recommendations upon which the Minister of Information – the President – will act.
Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Mr. Ramesh Dookhoo said last month that Freedom of Information and Broadcast legislation are urgent tasks for democracy and development.

He was at the time addressing the PSC’s 19th annual general meeting (AGM) at the Pegasus Hotel. “While it has been argued that there is a lot of freedom in Guyana, the media remains one area where we are well below global standards in democracies,” he said.
Dookhoo said that media, press freedom and the free flow of information are as important today as they ever were.
“This is of concern to us, because growth in press would help to cement our democratic credentials and also provide opportunities for more private sector investment and development,” he posited, urging the National Assembly to treat those two pieces of legislation with urgency.